The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently granted an insurer’s motion to intervene in an indemnity dispute between another insurer and an asbestos product supplier.
Toxic Tort
Massachusetts Courts Weigh In On Conflicts of Law, Bad Faith Damages And Duty To Defend
Three recent Massachusetts cases touched on issues of significance to insurers doing business in and around the Commonwealth.
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Environmental Claims – Florida Appellate Court Enforces New York Forum Selection Clause in Petroleum Discharge Case
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a recent decision, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal enforced an express New York choice of law/forum selection provision in an environmental liability policy insuring a gas station located in Florida. …
NYAG Sues ExxonMobil over Alleged 17-million-gallon Oil Spill in New York City
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On July 17, 2007, New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) Andrew M. Cuomo filed suit against the ExxonMobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company “to force the cleanup of a 17-million-gallon oil spill in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and to restore Newtown Creek, the contaminated waterway separating Queens from Brooklyn.”
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Travelers Enters Settlement with ACandS, Ending “Potentially Unlimited” Exposure; Plan Includes Reinsurance Allocation
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The Travelers Companies, Inc. has announced a settlement with ACandS Inc. to resolve all current and future asbestos-related coverage claims. ACandS, an insulation contractor, has been undergoing Chapter 11 reorganization since 2002, and its bankruptcy counsel has described the Travelers insurance coverage as “the most important asset of ACandS’s bankruptcy estate.”
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Supreme Court Weighs in on Dirty Sites – CERCLA Permits Private Right of Action
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On June 11, the United States Supreme Court has paved the way for additional litigation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”).
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First Circuit Finds Flexibility in “Sudden and Accidental” Pollution Exception
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On May 30, the U.S Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that an insured’s broad allegations of pollution over a course of decades are enough to trigger a liability insurer’s duty to defend environmental contamination lawsuits.
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